Roasted Chicken

 

a whole chicken

fresh rosemary and thyme

fresh garlic, minced

kosher salt

extra virgin olive oil

crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Rinse chicken and pat dry.

Truss (tie together the legs).

Put on a rack on top of a cookie sheet.

Loosen the chicken's skin by pushing fingers underneath it. Do this on breast, thigh, legs... Anywhere that you can get your fingers under the skin.

On cutting board, chop herbs, add red pepper, minced garlic, salt, and oil.

Smush up and mix to make a paste.

Place the herb mixture under the skin, coating all the meat that you can.

Then spread the paste on the outside of the bird.

Put him in the hot oven, close the door and immediately reduce heat to 350.

Roast for 20 minutes per pound of chicken.

Remove from oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving!

Take off string. Remove from wire stand. Carve and serve.

Poached Egg

Use a smallish nonstick frying pan. Put about 1/2 - 1" of water in it. Sprinkle in some salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
Carefully crack egg into the water. Gently shake the pan back and forth over the burner to prevent the egg from sticking to the bottom.
Some of the white will spread out, becoming kind of lacy. Don't worry about that part - you won't serve it. As the main part of the white begins to cook, use a spoon or your spatula to splash the simmering water over the top of the egg, cooking the yolk and the white both.
Continue the gentle shaking throughout the cooking process.
Use a spatula or slotted spoon to remove the egg.
Serve on toast, if you like.

Roasted Potatoes

2 large russet potatoes
Canola oil (or olive oil)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Scrub potatoes. Peel if you like (you don't have to peel them).
Cut potatoes into bite size pieces.
Use a paper towel or kitchen towel to dry the potatoes. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Drizzle with oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix up so each little potato is lightly coated with oil, then spread back out in single layer.
Put in oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, then stir them or shake them up to turn them.
Continue cooking, stirring or shaking every 10 or 15 minutes, till gold and crispy.

NOTE: The larger you cut your potatoes, the longer they'll take to cook. Smallish dice-sized cubes will take about 30 minutes total cooking time.